Outside the secret forest of the elves.

After the battle, Sikong Lian led the people to clean up the battlefield. They collected the remains of the dead, buried the bodies, and treated the wounded.

"Are you okay?" Xingyue walked to Sikong Lian and looked at him with concern.

Sikong Lian nodded and said, "Ah Lian is fine, just a little tired. As long as he gets a good rest, he will be fine. This time, it is all thanks to the help of the Star Moon Goddess."

Xingyue smiled slightly and said nothing more. After all, the purpose of her trip was to help the elves quell the rebellion and drive out foreign enemies.

At this moment, Spirit Emperor Sikong Hao also came over. He first thanked Xingyue, then patted his son Sikong Lian on the shoulder and said encouragingly, "Ah Lian, you performed very well this time. Without you, our elves would not have been able to defeat the rebels and drive out the demon enemies so easily."

Sikong Lian shook his head, not taking any credit for it. "Father, it was the great assistance of the Star-Moon Goddess and the joint efforts of the soldiers that enabled us to achieve victory."

The Emperor felt very comforted when he saw that his son was neither arrogant nor impatient.

Suddenly, an elven soldier ran over and reported to Sikong Hao: "Your Majesty, we found some strange things in the place where the enemy troops passed by when they were evacuating."

Upon hearing this, Sikong Hao's face showed a trace of deep doubt. He said in a deep voice, "Let's go and check it out together."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sikong Hao took the lead and walked forward. Seeing this, the others followed closely behind him.

Soon, everyone followed the leading soldier to a stream that the demon army had retreated through. Looking out, they saw scattered, inky black crystals in the stream, gleaming with a faint, eerie light, as if telling some unknown secret.

"What on earth are these?" Sikong Lian couldn't help but ask curiously.

The Spirit Emperor Sikong Hao was concentrating on examining these black crystals carefully. He frowned tightly and thought to himself that he had never seen such a strange thing before.

At this moment, Xingyue, who had been silent all the time, suddenly stepped forward, stretched out her slender hand, and gently touched one of the crystals.

However, something unexpected happened. The moment Xingyue's fingertips touched the crystal, an extremely powerful and violent force instantly gushed out from the crystal, like a surging torrent, which shocked Xingyue so much that he took several steps back before he could barely stabilize his body.

"This is... an evil power!" Xingyue's expression changed slightly, and a hint of shock flashed in her beautiful eyes. Obviously, she had keenly sensed the extremely evil power contained in these crystals.

"These crystals must have been brought here by Yao Jingyue and his gang, but what ulterior motives do they have?" Sikong Lian's eyes were as sharp as swords, staring at the mysterious crystals in front of him, trying to find some clues from them.

For a moment, everyone present fell into deep thought, and everyone's heart was heavy.

This war, which was instigated by the demon army and harassed the elves, seems to hide a bigger conspiracy.

In order to find out the truth, Spirit Emperor Sikong Hao decided to send people to send these crystals back to the elves' research institute, and at the same time strengthen defenses to prevent the demons from attacking again.

Xingyue narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, her gaze fixed on the gurgling, clear stream, and a sense of indescribable unease welled up in her heart. It was as if an invisible force was pulling her, making her feel that this seemingly peaceful scene before her was fraught with deadly danger.

Her brow furrowed slightly, lost in a brief moment of contemplation. What could have caused this inexplicable premonition? Could this ordinary stream truly hold some hidden mystery? Xingyue pondered this, feeling more and more that things weren't that simple.

After careful consideration, Xingyue decided to take action. She looked at the elven soldiers and gave a direct order: "Immediately remove all the black crystals from the stream and place them in the Qiankun bag! No mistakes!"

As she spoke, Xingyue waved her hand vigorously in the air. Following her movement, a dazzling light suddenly lit up.

Then, a bag shimmering with divine light appeared before everyone, seemingly descending from the sky. The bag exuded a powerful and heart-pounding aura, as if it contained endless mysteries and power.

After receiving the order, the elves dared not delay. Without hesitation, they plunged into the freezing stream and began to search for and salvage the mysterious black crystals. Each one was fully focused and operated carefully, fearing to miss a single one.

For a moment, the entire scene became extremely tense and busy. Elven soldiers swam back and forth in the water, constantly passing pieces of shiny black crystals and accurately placing them into the Qiankun bag in Xingyue's mouth.

Xingyue, who was standing on the shore, watched their every move intently, her eyes full of expectation and vigilance.

Xingyue walked forward cautiously and checked it over and over again carefully and seriously. Only after she was sure that there was no mistake did she slowly close the Qiankun bag in her hand.

Sikong Lian, who had been observing silently from the side, had been silent for a long time, his inner questions surging like a tide. Finally, he couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Star-Moon Goddess, what exactly do you mean by this?"

Xingyue's expression instantly grew grave, as if a heavy burden weighed on her heart. She said slowly, "I still don't understand why those demons threw this thing into the stream. But my intuition tells me that I can't let these black crystals remain in the water no matter what."

At the same time, in another distant place, Yao Jingyue was leading a small and wounded team of demon soldiers, desperately rushing towards the demon world.

"Your Highness, you are so generous! You are willing to send so many precious crystals to the elves!" One of the demon soldiers muttered in confusion.

Hearing this, Yao Jingyue's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint, elusive sneer. Her narrow, charming eyes flickered with a sly and evil light.

Her voice was icy cold. "Hmph, what do you know? Those aren't crystals that hold abundant power that can be absorbed and utilized! They're actually 'bad luck stones' that bring misfortune and disaster..."